Satellite airport being planned in Palghar

A satellite airport for Mumbai in the neighbouring Palghar district is being planned which would cater to the emerging air traffic needs in India’s financial capital.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, the second busiest airport in the country after the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, can handle over 900 flights per day.

The Palghar district is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Giving a significant push to the proposed airport, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked officials to speed up the project.

The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and the Palghar district administration have been asked to work on the project.

It may be mentioned that work is underway in full swing at the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) which is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2023.

At the meeting in which state Transport Minister Anil Parab and top officials, including Chief Secretary Manu Kumar Srivastava and MADC Managing Director Deepak Kapoor, were present, Thackeray discussed the project and asked it to be taken ahead.

“In future, there will be a lot of traffic on the Mumbai and the Navi Mumbai airports and another airport is needed. And hence, planning has to start from now and Palghar is the most suitable site,” officials said.

As of now, there are restrictions on airports coming up within 150 nautical miles of an existing one, but in the past exceptions were made for the Navi Mumbai and Jewar Airport near Delhi.

The Palghar district spread across 4,69,699 hectares of the total geographical area has a total of 1,007 villages and 467 gram panchayats. The Vasai-Virar urban conglomeration is part of the Palghar district, which is part of the far Western line suburbs of Mumbai.

On the east side of the district, there is Thane and Nashik, on the west, there is the Arabian sea, on the south side, Mumbai, Thane and on the north side Valsad (Gujarat), Dadara and Nagar Haveli. Palghar has a coastline of 112 km. Palghar is adorned with the natural beauty of Arabian Sea beaches on the west and Sahyadri Hills on the east which are tourist attractions. The district has several industrial areas.